About

I’m Alan. I’m 42 and I’m beginning a new career as a toolmaker in Northern England.

I’m starting at the bottom, as a first year apprentice – an opportunity I had thought I would never be able to take advantage of. I’m very lucky to have a friend in a position to let me have a go.

I’m doing my basic skills training at the Rolls Royce North East Training Center, where I will be completing three, four week long modules, comprising of Hand Fitting, Milling and Turning. The most recent experience I have with metalwork of any kind was a few goes on a metal lathe at high school and countless skinned knuckles and small bruises while attempting to fix my motorcycle.

HexDev Ltd, the company I am employed by – who have been wonderful enough to extend this chance to me – primarily concerns itself with custom precision engineering, toolmaking for plastic injection moulding and low volume runs of injection moulded parts.

I am Australian by birth and inclination and moved to the UK in 2004 to get married. In Australia and here in the UK, I have previously been a security guard, taxi driver, counselor,  university student, administrator, courier, web developer, IT technician, computer programmer and homeless bum. All of which was a lot of fun, but not terribly stable.

I’ve always been interested in science and engineering, so for this to come along at this point in my life, when I have two kids and a beautiful wife, is both a relief and joy.

As far as this blog goes, I aim to update it once or twice a week showing off the work I’m doing and hopefully keeping track of my progress. It’s a four year apprenticeship, it should be quite a ride.